Worth every minute!

Nine months of pregnancy, five hours of labor, and eight minutes of dilevery... Elijah is worth every minute. The truth of bringing a baby into this world is that much of the experience isn't exactly enjoyable. There's the morning sickness, heartburn, excessive trips to the bathroom, huge belly, hormones, kicking, inability to sleep, doctor's visits, labor, delivery, and the weeks of recovery; but once you have your sweet little baby in your arms for the first time, you know the reward was worth every minute. Growing a baby inside your body is truly a thing of wonder. It is totally amazing that all the cells know just what their purpose is and day by day they slowly become what they are destined to be. Birth is a miracle. Even though I have never actually seen a baby be born, from what Rick says it is amazing how the whole thing happens. From the tiny little crown of their head appearing to their beautiful face, shoulders, and body. Although it has only been two and a half years since I did this last, there are some things that have come flooding back to my memory about just how beautiful it is to have a newborn baby in your life. Here are some of the things that I love about my little boy:

*Nothing smells better than a baby. I could eternally sit and smell and kiss my freshly bathed and lotioned baby.

*I love the profile view that only a mother gets as she nurses her baby. Eyes closed, hands in fists, and the rhythmic sucking and swallowing of eating.

*Babies make the cutest noises when they sleep.

*After nursing Elijah, I have his little ear imprint on my arm from holding him as he eats.

*I love that such a little thing can make such loud noises when they poop and burp.

*It is fascinating to watch babies move as they figure out that they have room to stretch out their arms and legs. Their movement can be so slow and deliberate, or they get startled by their new found freedom.

*Elijah looks so darling as he furrows his brow in a look of concentration as he works on adjusting his eyes together to look at something.

*I love the fine layer of hair that is on Elijah's back and shoulders.

*Although it is just a reflex for now, I love to see Elijah smile as he sleeps.

*Elijah's skin is so soft! Being covered in wax and soaking in warm water for 9 months gives your skin a softness that nothing can compare to.

*It amazes me how those tiny little fingers can hold so tightly when wrapped around your own.

I love my baby. I love my other babies who are great big brothers and always want to hold and kiss Eli. I love Rick for what a wonderful father he is and for all the help he gives me with the kids. I feel so blessed to have my little family. Life is a beautiful miracle, and worth every minute.

Fishing Trip

Since Dad has now officially looked at the blog twice (once for the birth of the baby, and now wondering where the fishing pictures are) he is demanding more posts. Typical blog convert. Dad (Grandpa Gunnerson) came and picked up Luke on Friday night to take him to the cabin with him and to go fishing early Saturday morning. Noah and I joined the two Saturday morning, just not so early. When we arrived at trial lake they already had three fish. The lake was still covered with a lot of ice and there were only a couple of spots for fishing, fortunately Dad and Luke found the best, as we then pulled in four more fish once Noah and I arrived. It made for a great morning, and a great evening for those who ate the fish that night. Here are the picutres.

Announcing: Elijah Alexander Gunnerson

Eli has finally arrived. We waited this morning for a call from the hospital to inform us we could come down, but by 8 a.m. no call had been recieved. Olivia called, and the hospital informed us that no beds were available (thats what you get in the baby capital of the world - provo) so we would have to wait until they called again. Around 10 a.m. they finally called and told us to come down. Olivia was started on drugs around 11 a.m. and miraculously progressed! Eli arrived, as can be seen below at 4 p.m. and weighed 7lbs. 13oz.

Congratulations to Lauren Cox for guessing almost exactly correct...I guess it helps to be a labor and delivery nurse. And the worst guess was Cassondra...a girl...really.

Caught Olivia sleeping while waiting. Epidurals do wonders.

Actual weigh in.

Three boys!

Beautiful Olivia and a beautiful baby!

Elijah Alexander Gunnerson - 2 hours old

Place your bets

Don't get too excited, these are just pictures of Luke and Noah at birth. We are still awaiting the arrival of number three! I thought it would fun to get everyone's best guesses about when the baby will be born and how big he will be. It is strange because this is the first time we don't have to guess if it is going to be a boy or a girl! I thought that to be fair I would share all the helpful information that I have to help you make an informed guess. The person who has the best guess will win... well you will win nothing, but you can take pride in your guessing abilities.

This week at my doctor's appointment I was actually dilated to almost 2cm. In fact, the doctor wrote it as 2cm in my chart! We talked a little about how things were going and decided that at my next appointment (Monday) we would set a date to be induced, so I think it should be a day next week, woo hoo.

Luke was born at 40 weeks and 5 days. He was 8 lbs. 11 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long. He was born at 5:30 pm. He didn't have too much hair, but the hair he did have was totally blonde! It was so unusual because even kids who turn out to be tow-heads usually have little brown peach fuzz when they are born. Not Luke, he was a blondie from the beginning.


Noah was born at 39 weeks and 2 days. He weighed 8 lbs. and 2 oz. and was also 20 1/2 inches long. He was born at 8:32 pm. Noah surprised us with a ton of black hair. When he was born Rick and I looked at each other and I said, "If I didn't just give birth to him I wouldn't believe he could be our baby."

For your guess please include date and time of birth, size (weight and length), and for a tie breaker we will go with blonde or black hair. Get your guesses in early because who knows, he may actually be born before we know it!

No passing out!

I just want to make sure that no one is going to pass out from holding their breath, waiting for me to have this baby. Breathe! So far all three of my pregnancies have been pretty much exactly the same; there have been minor differences (amounts of throwing up, levels of heartburn, pounds gained, etc.), but for the most part they are the most normal pregnancies you could ever imagine. So, I wasn't surprised on Monday when my doctor informed my that I would probably be pregnant past my actual due date. He looked at my chart and said, "from your track record it looks like you could be pregnant for a few more weeks." Yea, yea, I know. He then checked my cervix and said, "Yea, not much going on yet." He did say that if by my 39 week appointment I was dilated to 3 cm and 80% effaced they would start me early. Sounds good right? Well the odds of that happening are VERY slim to none. Considering that with both of my last two children I went to the hospital to have them only dilated to 1 cm and only about 50% effaced, I am not too optimistic about the odds of being started early. I tried to bring up the fact that if I go over my due date I will surely have a baby over 9 pounds, but the doctor just told me to be optimistic and think 7 pounds. Sure, that will help.

I have had lots of advice on what I can do to get things going on my own, but so far I haven't tried anything. I have to admit that none of them sound very appealing! I think that I will start testing out different theories here soon and hope that by Monday, my 39 week appointment, my cervix will be "favorable" to having a baby so they will take mercy on me and not make me go overdue and have a 10 pound baby! But for now I would suggest not holding your breath waiting because you will probably pass out before I actually have this next little guy.

(Just an endnote: thanks to everyone who said I looked good in my last post because the truth is I made Rick take like 10 pictures trying to get a "good" one and finally gave up feeling that taking a "good" picture that far along was impossible! I really do feel huge and am upset because I have gone 4 pound over my self-imposed weight limit, but your comments helped my feel a little better.)